1820 Society Commemoration 2012

Today Saturday 18th August marked the annual commemoration of the 1820 Radicals at Woodside Crematorium Paisley.

The Radical War, also known as the Scottish Insurrection of 1820, was a week of strikes and unrest, a culmination of Radical demands for political reform under the banner of ‘Scotland Free or a Desert’.   Artisan workers, particularly weavers in Scotland, sought action to reform an uncaring government, gentry fearing revolutionary horrors recruited militia and the government deployed an apparatus of spies, informers and agents provocateurs to stamp out the movement.

The main leaders of the uprising were Andrew Hardie, John Baird and James Wilson who were executed for their actions.  A monument to them stands in Woodside Cemetery, Paisley.

For further info: 1820 Radical War: wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Radical_War

Pictures from the Annual Commemoration at Woodside Crematorium Paisley, pictures taken by Mags MacLaren.